The 3-D sequel, which again stars Chris Hemsworth as the god of thunder, earned less-than-enthusiastic reviews from the critics apart from Hemsworth's costar Tom Hiddleston, who again portrays Thor's stepbrother Loki. Nevertheless, audiences came out in droves to the latest film from the Marvel universe, and now the only question seems to be whether the film can finish its opening weekend over the $100-million mark, a figure that remains a possibility.

The expected big numbers for "Thor" resulted in little new action elsewhere in theaters, with the critically lauded "12 Years a Slave" venturing out of the art-house for a wider release this weekend. The film earned an estimated $1.8 million on more than a thousand screens.

Another film opening in wider release, the Richard Curtis-directed time-travel romance "About Time," continued to underperform with an estimated $1.5 million in earnings on Friday.

Elsewhere on the charts, the prank comedy "Bad Grandpa" took in an estimated $3.4 million Friday for a distant second place thus far this weekend, "Last Vegas" earned just over $3.2 million followed by "Ender's Game" with $2.9 million. The animated "Free Birds" is on track to round out the top five for the weekend with an estimated $2.6 million so far.

The titular hammer-wielding superhero returns in "Thor: The Dark World," this time to stop a race of dark elves from plunging the universe into blackness. But, despite all creation hanging in the balance, film critics are somewhat unmoved by the god of thunder's latest outing — though they are...

Even in a summer that's focused on creativity, with exceptional documentaries like "Amy" on Amy Winehouse and "What Happened, Miss Simone?" on Nina Simone, "Listen to Me Marlon" stands out. Autobiographical in nature, unconventional in structure, this is the story of Marlon Brando not as the world...